[JayNetTech5]

Schiit AKM 20' RCA vs Geshelli ESS 25' XLR Mild Equalization for Listening Space​

AKM = well-rounded, generally weightier sounding, 3D in different tracks, track sections or sources, captures individual instrument tone very well

ESS = more detailed or revealing of very delicate sounds, more bass, better sounding bass, slightly narrower stage, vocals feel more immersive

AKM tends to sound its best with good direct source material, while ESS tends to be highly enjoyable in multiple sources!

My general thought. Comparing the two sets: Schiit AKM 20' RCA vs Geshelli ESS 25' XLR (Forever Speakers w/ 15" Woofers)

AKMs are more balanced, capture the tone and notes very well. dynamic. Fuller sound, wider stage.

ESS Sabres sound more immersive with strong vocals, are very detailed, enjoyable all-around with variable sources, improved bass range tonality.

The SchAKMR20EQ (SHAKM) was fine to my ears the stage width is very impressive in this expression of circuitry and I had no complaints except for the RCA run length.

The GeshESSX25EQ (GESSHI) sounded wrong using the EQ settings for the SHAKM. Dialing in the GEESHI for the room was very intuitive. I think the reason this set up is more immersive than the SHAKM is due to the lack of dynamic fullness (by comparison) and that makes you passively listen more intently to the impressive tonality.

I learned enough from this comparison to say that the sound quality was enjoyable with the SHAKM but the GESSHI is an upgrade worth the cost including cables, to my ears in my listening space,

I'm starting to prefer ESS implementations over AKM, as far as the cheaper and more portable DACs go, because details and immersive instruments/vocals can make tracks sound more intimate and out of this world. I love how with a really detailed output, you can elaborately hear a dive bomb from a guitar solo all the way to down the end of the lowest note, while the rest the instruments are still doing their thing inside of the track.

 

[dougms3]

I think it depends on the implementation. Things can be made to sound as the designer wants it.

I find that there is a small difference between ess and akm but its miniscule. Not enough to really affect a buying decision for me. If you've heard a good r2r dac, the difference between that and a delta sigma dac is enormous. It seems to me that the chifi devices in general prefer to go light on bass.

For instance, I was blown away by the mytek empire streamer. It usese dual ess9038 pro chips, I've heard other devices with this setup but never heard that level of bass from these delta sigma dacs. Even the liberty dac has much more bass than something like the smsl su9.

 

[566854]

I had to actually make a few more adjustments and ultimately I cannot recommend one over the other we are lucky to be able to get sound worthy chips like these two brands at a halfway decent price point. Do they have a brand/build signature? I still think so in some cases.

 

[hbcke]

Do not listen to someone who says Sabre dac vocals are immersive. Do not even touch Sabre dac daps if you have not overly warm iem or headphone.

Even everyone trys to sell that multi dac uber super resolution Sabre daps.

Preference is big deal when dealing with audio.

I tried many dacs. Burr brown-Sabre-Akm-R2R Philips dac-Wolfson. Never tried a Cirrus Logic though but i read lot of reviews about that.

Musical ones are R2R Multibit Philips dac,R2R Ru6 dac,Burr Brown
Akm has some flaws but better than uber super resolution Sabre crap.
Sabre is the worst of worst. Everyone trys to sell at some point.

 

[566854]

The ESS dac implementation ahead of Freya N into a pair of highly efficient 3 way networks driving 15" woofers (unique Cerwin Vega) at mid presence in a mid sized room is ear candy writ large. Better than AKM as a dac in that set up.

However throwing the Freya S in the same set up triggers the trigeminal pain circuitry above the right eye thanks to sarin gas poisoning (gulf war illness).

Put that same Freya S behind the AKM in a small room with two way network JBL 2 way with 8" woofer and away you go foot tapping with an inner smile.

 

[Loftprojection]

Do not listen to someone who says Sabre dac vocals are immersive. Do not even touch Sabre dac daps if you have not overly warm iem or headphone.

Even everyone trys to sell that multi dac uber super resolution Sabre daps.

Preference is big deal when dealing with audio.

I tried many dacs. Burr brown-Sabre-Akm-R2R Philips dac-Wolfson. Never tried a Cirrus Logic though but i read lot of reviews about that.

Musical ones are R2R Multibit Philips dac,R2R Ru6 dac,Burr Brown
Akm has some flaws but better than uber super resolution Sabre crap.
Sabre is the worst of worst. Everyone trys to sell at some point.

Good points, may be a bit too harsh, haha but I have a similar opinion.

I have two different tube amps (Woo and Unison) that have an ESS dac chip inside and my optimum musical sweetness setup comes out when I use my non oversampling TDA1541 based DAC (Orchid).

The ESS are not that bad, specially in the Woo but do sound more digital and less pleasant than the non oversampling DAC. I assume most new R2R have a similar effect but haven’t heard one yet. I also remember older Burrbrown having a sound that felt less digital than ESS but it’s been quite some time since I heard one, iFi uses BB chips but it’s not popular like ESS and AKM anymore.

I wish more manufacturers would start using designs that sound like those old TDA1541. Seems like they all go for the simplicity of using ESS AKM chips.

 

[Loftprojection]

Anyone directly compared a Burr Brown DAC with an R2R or nos DAC using the same amp?

 

[jjazzy]

Here is what ChatGPT3 Had to say about the differences to the human ear: AKM vs ESS:

"It is unlikely that the human ear can reliably tell the difference between music played with an AKM DAC or ESS DAC. Both AKM and ESS produce high-quality digital-to-analog converters that are capable of producing high-fidelity sound.

In most cases, the differences between DACs are subtle and require sophisticated audio equipment and trained listeners to discern. Additionally, the differences between DACs are often overshadowed by other factors in the audio chain, such as the quality of the audio source, amplification, and speakers or headphones.

That being said, some individuals with highly trained ears and extensive experience in audio production and engineering may be able to detect subtle differences between AKM and ESS DACs. However, for the vast majority of listeners, the differences between these two DACs are likely to be negligible."

Damn, I want to believe that the AKM sound is "velvety" dammit.

It is just bullsh… you won’t hear a difference, I heared it on my astell and kern easily, a stage and smoothness which most ess sabre can’t match. The smoothness is possible, the stage no. I heared it on the new eversolo a6 master vs a8, everytime the stage and depth of the akm one from the ess9038.

On a headphone not always that perfectly detectable, compare them on a hifi system easily noticable.

 

[123peter]

A general comparision of AKM to ESS does not make sense.
Lets compare the latest AKM4499EX to ESS9039mPro chip models.

 

[jjazzy]

A general comparision of AKM to ESS does not make sense.
Lets compare the latest AKM4499EX to ESS9039mPro chip models.

I was talking about the pro, my examples were just a fast chosen example. The 9038pro is not a bad dac, but missing fast transients translating to stage like the akm4499ex

 

[123peter]

I understand you.
Yes, the 9038Pro is also a headlamp. Even when used alone.
For comparative tests to make sense, it would be necessary to use only a DAC from ESS or AKM in the audio path, and at a similar price.
The rest of the audio track would have to be the same. It's difficult.

For many years I was an AKM fan - their chips were the most recognizable, and the factory fire and the replacement of AKM with ESS chips, which was dictated by production shortages, was a forced necessity.

ESS has caught up in recent years and it is currently difficult for me to say which of the three is better.
These are such advanced systems that they cannot be compared to those from many years ago.
Although, if you search the Internet, some chips are still "sufficient" and iconic, e.g. 4493.
The old proverb says "it's not the chip itself that works, but the entire well-thought-out circuit in which it is used" - and there is a lot of truth in that.
Have fun testing.

 

[jjazzy]

I understand you.
Yes, the 9038Pro is also a headlamp. Even when used alone.
For comparative tests to make sense, it would be necessary to use only a DAC from ESS or AKM in the audio path, and at a similar price.
The rest of the audio track would have to be the same. It's difficult.

For many years I was an AKM fan - their chips were the most recognizable, and the factory fire and the replacement of AKM with ESS chips, which was dictated by production shortages, was a forced necessity.

ESS has caught up in recent years and it is currently difficult for me to say which of the three is better.
These are such advanced systems that they cannot be compared to those from many years ago.
Although, if you search the Internet, some chips are still "sufficient" and iconic, e.g. 4493.
The old proverb says "it's not the chip itself that works, but the entire well-thought-out circuit in which it is used" - and there is a lot of truth in that.
Have fun testing.

I agree done well, a ess can sound well too. I just noticed akm, everytime I hear one has more layering in depth, almost holographic. Even one eversolo the comparison was easy. The eversolo A8 and the a6 are almost identicall (no not a 9038 pro, de mq2 version, but still a ess) and the sound difference was quite huge, holographic/3d stage wise.
I know the AKM 4493 sound really good, by astell and kern has two of them.

 

[123peter]

Great RME ADI devices, including AKM and ESS, sound great and are extremely well-thought-out electronic designs.
And to make things more interesting, the TOTL CDs still use BurrBrown - and at the price of $10-15k, the chip price is nothing.

 

[Loftprojection]

Great RME ADI devices, including AKM and ESS, sound great and are extremely well-thought-out electronic designs.
And to make things more interesting, the TOTL CDs still use BurrBrown - and at the price of $10-15k, the chip price is nothing.

Do you think TOTL CDs use BurrBrown because they don't need ultimate hi-rez decoding (redbook CD) and so concentrate on the best sound possible which BurrBrown provides to them?

 

[123peter]

There is no rational explanation for this, because with such a high price of CD players, the use of more expensive AKM or ESS chips is not justified even from a marketing perspective?
And in cheap devices costing $300-500 it is so exposed.
According to the AKM specification, AK4499EX can be used in CDs, but manufacturers don't do it - I don't know why.
This example from RME ADI is good, there are some videos from the manufacturer and he explains it there.
It is true that the latest chips have achieved abstract decoding capabilities of up to 1536kHz sample rate, currently there are no recordings at such a high sampling rate.
It may seem that on paper see link
https://audioxpress.com/news/akm-ak...ship-d-a-converter-solution-enters-production
It's great and simple, but good implementation in devices is difficult to do.

A good example for DAPs A&K SP3000, Shanling M9 PLUS, HiBy R6 Pro II - apparently the same DACs AK4499EX and AK4191 are used, and even ignoring the amplification stage and using only LineOut - the sound is the best in SP3000 because it is a well-thought-out, technically advanced design.
I also used AKM devices for many years - I omitted ESS chips, it was more because I was used to AKM.
I was looking for a DAP with large isolated ,dedicated ,output options: PO, LineOut, PreOut.
I bought the latest A&K Kann Ultra DAP on the new ESS ES9039mPro chip,
even using it only as a DAC via LineOut for an amplifier, the sound is amazing, much better than cheaper models, e.g. HiBy from AKM.
In my opinion, it's a matter of the design of the DAP, not the chip, because A&K SP3000 is also used on LineOut with the AKM 4499EX also sounds magical.